


To the Glittering Sky

by january_sunshine



Category: Uta no Prince-sama
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Music, race against the clock
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2017-01-11
Packaged: 2018-09-16 18:12:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9283880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/january_sunshine/pseuds/january_sunshine
Summary: "...You said there's still a way I could stay, right?"Ren finally decides he's going to shape up to pass Hyuuga's class. But he can't put together a full song in just a night all by himself.





	

**Author's Note:**

> These feelings have started to run, if they were changed by passion…  
> I say this only for you, my last phrase of love!
> 
> \- _Sekai no Machi Made Believe Heart_

When his roommate entered the room that afternoon, Masato Hijirikawa had not been expecting the silence he'd arrived to. He rarely did when it came to rooming with Ren Jinguji, used to the hum of a song or the buzz of headphones. He hadn't expected Ren to return at all that night, if he were honest with himself. The only times the room would be in full silence usually came when Ren wasn't home, but to see him there, _quietly_ , was a strange thing. Ren Jinguji was not a very habitual person, but he had very particular behaviors--and one always included dates and outings with lovely ladies on bad days.

The day before expulsion normally counted as a 'bad day', at least in Masato's book.

Perhaps Ren had returned to begin packing? Masato figured he would've just called for his butler to collect his belongings. It aggravated and upset Masato even further, knowing his roommate was so ready to give up on this dream, a dream that he himself had to fight for, and the older boy was more than ready to punch his roommate once again. It had Masato's hand tightening against his calligraphy brush--and the ink from the brush dripped against his blank paper. Lowering the brush to paper, Masato made one swipe.

Terrible.

"...not used to seeing you be this messy," came the soft words from the ginger from the bed against the wall.

Masato moved his hand back, bringing the brush back to the cleaning towel. He didn't lift his head. "Is there a reason you're here?"

He waited, expecting a snarky reply, or a scoff, or something. Instead, what he received was his roommate moving down to join him at the table. Eyes flickered upward, matching aquamarine orbs staring at him. Masato couldn't read his expression, but it looked... troubled. Confusing. Without an answer, Masato didn't pry further. His shoulders relaxed, and he merely dipped the brush into the water, rinsing the bristles of the ink before drying them fully on the towel. Setting the brush down, he glanced back up. He could tell Ren was waiting, wondering, but he wouldn't give him the satisfaction of asking: instead, he let his gaze pierce into Ren's, quite pointedly.

Ren understood the message:  _what do you want?_

"...You said there's still a way I could stay, right?" Ren asked.

Masato blinked. He had, earlier, upon watching Haruka slave over finding the pieces to his lyrics. After all of them had done some digging and collecting, after she'd meticulously matched each character so she could tape it back together. Seeing Ren give up, after all of that? Masato turned his head away.

"Why? Did you finally decide you actually cared?"

Ren just huffed, shifting from the seat. He rose to his feet, only to trudge the small distance to his bed in order to flop on it. As normal, his hands folded behind his bed, and he just grunted. "Should've known better. Temper-out-of-line Hijirikawa is too busy writing me off as a hopeless case, huh."

Masato's eyes narrowed. "It's no one's fault but your own if you fail your assignment, Jinguji," he hissed, voice cold and icy.

The room fell silent. To Masato, it was nothing new, but it felt almost deafening to Ren. Especially with the redhead standing there, looking honestly troubled by the decision. A few moments passed in a heavy silence.

And then:

"Do you have music? Or just your lyrics?"

Ren's eyes opened, brows furrowed in surprise. "Do I... what?"

" _Music_ , Jinguji. Did you compose anything?"

The boy's eyes widened as thoughts finally clicked, and he leaned forward. "Y-you mean--" But instead of continuing his thought--as he noticed Masato's look soften--he just moved to lean under his bed, pulling out a notebook. He began flipping through pages. Masato rose from his seat and crossed the room to sit next to Ren, reaching over to free the small pencil hooked to the notebook's spiral. He waited patiently until Ren stopped flipping through and shared with him one of the pages.

And Masato nodded. "Coffee is on you tonight."

"Deal." Ren smiled.

\--

They'd both skipped dinner. Water bottles resting against the top of a piano, Masato pressed play on the small recorder and took a small breath--the saxophone's melody roared to light accompanying the melodic tune of dancing keys. It sounded like they were racing, the jazzy tunes jumping between notes with ivory trills following suit, the sounds complimenting one another as they escalated forward.

And then Ren hit a flat. Masato's hand shot out to touch the recorder, and he stopped it.

"Again."

Play.

Breath.

Dance.

A key jolt from Masato. He stopped the recording.

"Again," from Jinguji this time. He brought his mouth to the reed and ran his tongue against the wood--and Masato's mind blanked for a second. He blinked, and his gaze immediately turned back down. Recorder on.

Breath.

Dance.

It took a few more tries, but only a handful of mistakes passed before they managed to record a solid take. Then two. Then a third, just to be safe. The two sat on the piano bench, Ren leaning his shoulder against Masato's back, and he lazily sipped at his water as his ears followed the notes. Masato's fingers ghosted over the keyboard to mimic his own playing. At one point, he'd completely left the composition, and Ren had joined him.

Ren laughed softly. "We should improvise more often," he said.

" _Shouldn't_ ," Masato answered. "We won't always be this lucky."

" _Should_ ," Ren argued, and his mouth was too close to Masato's ear. Warm, light air, mint-scented, brushes against his skin. Masato's neck felt hot. "Sounds good."

The song stopped. Masato didn't look away from the keys. "Come on, we need to find a drummer."

That had Ren sitting up, head tilting to the side. "A drummer?"

"For the bass, genius. Your song is far too upbeat to be without some sort of accenting cadence." He frowned a little. "I know there's got to be something..."

But that gave Ren an idea. He laughed, shaking his head. "Nah. It's late, let's just line it up with a synth imitator."

"A... what?" Masato's eyes stared at Ren. The ginger laughed again and just smacked his arm lightly as he rose from the bench.

"Come on, I have a plan. But first, we're gonna need that coffee."

\--

Ren's plan, in the end, was both harder and easier than expected. Instead of trying to find a percussion student still awake or willing to work with them, his plan had been to use a synthesizer from the computer labs. From there, they could also mix it directly into the song. The plan itself was simple--the actual process proved to be a challenge neither of them had been expecting. Thankfully, buzzing on three warm canned coffees smuggled into the room and with a driven plan in mind, they managed to finish it within just a few more hours.

It'd still need some work, in the end, but for a demo to play for Hyuuga, Ren's professor, it would be a solid passing grade. Once they'd laid the vocals atop the song, it sounded almost magical. Masato, arms crossed, looking down during the full play-through, just shook his head as the song reached its ending.

"Jinguji," his voice rang out, sharp and steady.

Ren immediately thought his roommate had found a problem. "What'd you hear?"

Masato didn't answer right away. After a pause, he just sighed. "You're too reckless. It's after three in the morning and I'm honestly _amazed_  that this terrible plan of yours just might work."

That had Ren laughing. He draped an arm around Masato's shoulders, bringing his rigid friend in closer. Their shoulders bumped. "I'm surprised you didn't quit on me once midnight hit."

"Eh? But we were--"

Ren's laugh cut him off. "No what I mean to say... Thanks, for not giving up on me."

The soft show of gratitude had Masato turning his face away, cheeks growing pink. "I... just didn't want you doing something you'd regret, alright? Don't make it sound as though it's bigger than it is."

Ren's laugh grew, and he leaned in, face pressed against Masato's neck. And then, after a few seconds, he placed a small kiss on bare skin. Masato's eyes widened and he turned around in his seat, looking at Ren.

And Ren just laughed again, leaning over to take the CD out of the drive.

"I don't know about you, _Masayan_ ," he spoke, "but I'm just _exhausted_. Aren't you? It's late!"

"Jinguji!"

Ren ignored him and merely ran to the door, leaving Masato to hurry after him. But even with his shout, Masato couldn't keep the smile from his face.

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'd been sitting on a drabble about this gorgeous song for a few months now, finally decided to go ahead and publish it.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
